Chair

ABSTRACT

A chair comprising a base, a support shaft mounted on the base and a body supporting portion mounted on the support shaft. The support shaft is fixed against rotation relative to the base and can move generally vertically relative to the base. The body supporting portion moves vertically with the support shaft and is rotatable relative to the support shaft. A locking mechanism is carried by the body supporting portion for releasably locking the body supporting portion in a preselected angular position relative to the support shaft.

O United States Patent [151 3,674,308

Radding 1 July 4, 1972 1 CHAIR 2,854,065 9/1958 Fox ..248/425 [72]Inventor: Jason D. Radding, Irvine, Calif. 3 $3222 [73] Assignee: CrownImports Co., Inc., Newport Beach, 7

Calm Primary ExaminerJames T. McCall 2 Filed; Oct. 2 1970Attorney-Smyth, ROSIOII & Pavitt 21 Appl. No.2 77,667 57 ABSTRACT Achair comprising a base, a support shaft mounted on the U-S. base and asupporting portion mounted on the upport 248/425 shaft. The supportshaft is fixed against rotation relative to the Cl;f ..A47c 1/06 baseand can move generally vertically relative to the base 1 [6 d 0 Search...i ..r ..297/7l, 345, 3:95 The y pp g Portion moves vertically withthe pp 4 shaft and is rotatable relative to the support shaft. A locking[56] References Cited micharilsm lis Iaiarriedhby bill? body supportingportion for re easa y oc mg t e o y supporting portion in a UNITEDSTATES PATENTS preselected angular position relative to the supportshaft.

1,951,375 3/1934 Schwarzkopf et al ..297/71 X 8 Claims, 4 DrawingFigures Ill PATENTEDJUMIQIZ 3,574,308

/03 IHUEIUTOIZ: 4 Jason D. Kae a Q74 57: M4, $0154 gm cum BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION Chairs of the type often employed by barbers andbeauticians typically include a base and a body supporting portion. Thebody supporting portion is mounted on the base and can be elevated orrotated relative to the base.

One way to accomplish the desired movement of the body supportingportion is. to provide the base with a support shaft which is bothrotatable and translatable and to mount the body supporting portion onthe shaft for movement therewith. The shaft and the body supportingportion are elevated by a pump or motor. The body supporting portion canbe manually rotated relative to the base and locked in the desiredangular position by a locking mechanism. The body supporting portion maybe raised or lowered while ina locked position.

The locking mechanism is in the base and is operated by locking the.shaft against rotation relative to the base to thereby hold the bodysupporting portion in a fixed angular position. The locking mechanismhas ahandle positioned on the base for operation by the foot of theoperator.

With the locking mechanism as an integral part of the base, it must besold withthe base even when no locking mechanism is required therebyincreasing thecost of the unit. The foot operated handle of the lockingmechanism is considered by manyto be an inconvenience, and it doespresent the problem of shoe scufling as a result of operation of thehandle. Moreover, the foot operatedlocking mechanism is subject to notbeing firmly set by the operator thereby causing the inconvenience of asecond attempt at locking the locking mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The'present invention eliminates all of theproblems noted above. The present invention provides a chair in whichthe support shaft is held against rotation relative to the base and thebody supporting portion is mounted on thesupport shaft for rotationrelativethereto. The locking mechanism and the operating handle thereforare carried by the body supporting portion, and the locking mechanism ishand operated rather than foot operated thereby eliminating all of theproblems noted above with respect to foot operated locking mechanisms-As the locking mechanism is not a part of the base, the cost of basessold where no locking. feature is required is reduced. Moreover, it is asimple matter to provide a body supporting portion having, nolockingmechanism for applications where no locking feature is required.

To implement at least someof these concepts, a mounting memberhaving'aipassage therein ismounted by a race on the body supportingportion for rotation relative to the body supporting portion. Thepassage receives the upper end of the support shaft and is suitablydrivingly connected to the mounting member. Thus, the mounting member,which may be considered as part of a bearing, simply and inexpensivelymounts the body supporting portion on the support shaft for rotationrelative thereto.

To prevent the body supporting portion from wobbling on the supportshaft, at least one of the passage and the upper end portion of thesupport shaft are preferably tapered. This assures that the walldefining the passage in .the mounting.

memberand the peripheral surface of the upper end portion of the supportshaft will firmly and snugly engage each other. If desired, both thepassage in the mounting member and the upper end portion of the supportshaft can be correspondingly tapered to provide a larger area of contactbetween these two members to thereby even more stably mount the bodysupporting portion on the support shaft. To facilitate removal of thebody supporting portion from the support shaft, the angle of taper ispreferably large enough so that no sticking wedge" action is obtained.

The locking mechanism acts on the rotatable member to lock the rotatablemember in the desired angular position. The locking mechanism preferablyincludes a cam arrangement such as threads carried by the race andresponsive to pivotal movement of the operating handle for lockinglyengaging the rotatable member to thereby fix the latter against rotationrelative to the body supporting portion. As used herein, the expressionlocking mechanism includes locks, brakes, or other means operative toretain the body supporting portion in a preselected angular positionagainst the forces normally encountered during use of the chair.

The invention can be further understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying illustrativedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of achair constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken generally along line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along line 33 ofFIG. 1 and illustrating one form of locking mechanism usable with thechair.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a chair 11 of thetype often employed by barbers and beauticians. The chair 11 generallyincludes a base 13, a support shaft 15, a body support portion 17,mounting means 19 for mounting the body support portion 17 on the upperend of the support shaft 15 and. a locking mechanism 21 (FIG. 3). Thebase 13 includes a lower plate-like member 23 and anupwardly extendinghousing 25 which houses a pump 27 or other suitable means for elevatingthe support shaft 15. The pump 27 is operated in a conventional mannerby a foot pedal 29 which is mounted for oscillatory movement about asuitable shaft 31.

By pumping the foot pedal 29, the shaft 15 is elevated in a conventionalmanner. Similarly, by fully depressing the foot pedal 29, the supportshaft 15 can be forced downwardly. Ordinarily the weight of the bodysupport portion 17 either alone or with an occupant therein issufficient to cause slow downward movementof the shaft 15 when the footpedal 29 is fully depressed. The details of the pump and the manner ofraising and lowering the support shaft 15 is conventional and istherefore not shown in detail herein.

The support shaft 15 is mounted for generally vertical movement alongthe axis thereof. The support shaft 15 is retained against rotationrelative to the base 13 in any suitable manner such as by externalsplines 33 (FIG. 3) formed thereon and cooperating internal splines 35formed on a collar 37 which is mounted on the pump 27. Of course, othersuitable means such as a key, pin in groove arrangement, etc. can beused to prevent rotation of the shaft 15 while allowing axial movementthereof.

The body support portion 17 may be of various configurations and theillustrated construction of the body support portion is merelyillustrative. The body support portion 17 includes a seat 39 and a back41 (FIG. 1) and arm rests and other accessories may be provided desired.The body support portion 17 is an upholstered furniture piece andincludes a frame 43 (FIG. 2) of wood or similar material.

A seat bracket 45 (FIG. 2) is attached to the frame 43 in any suitablemanner such as by a plurality of screws 47. The seat bracket 45 isconstructed of a pair of parallel frame members 49 and 51 and a pair ofparallel cross members 53 and 55. The members 49, 51, 53 and 55 arepreferably strong structural members constructed of metal and may be,for example, angle iron. A foot rest 57 is mounted on the members 49 and51.

The mounting means 19 includes the seat bracket 45 and a bearing 59(FIGS. 2 and 3). The bearing 59 generally includes a race 61 and amounting or inner member 63 mounted in the race for rotation relativethereto. The race 61 is rigidly mounted by a plurality of screws 65(FIG. 2) to a pair of straps 67 (FIG. 3) which extend between the crossmembers 53 and 55. The race 61 includes an end wall 69 and a peripheralwall 71 which defines a generally cylindrical cavity 73.

The mounting member 63 is sized to be slidably received within thecavity 73 and has an annular groove 75 in the peripheral surfacethereof. In the embodiment illustrated, a pin 77 is receivable withinthe groove 75 and acts to retain the mounting member 63 in the cavity73. The pin 77 forms a portion of the locking mechanism 21 and isdescribed in greater detail hereinbelow. Other means in addition to thepin 77 and the groove 75 may be utilized to retain the rotatable member63 within the cavity 73 while permitting relative rotation therebetween.

The mounting member 63 has an axial passage 79 extending therethroughand a pair of diametrically opposed, radially extending slots 81. Theshaft has a tapered or frustoconical upper end portion 82 which isreceived in the passage 79. The contact between the peripheral surfaceof the end portion 82 and the surface defining the passage 79 providesfor firmly mounting of the body support portion 17 on the support shaft15. If desired, the passage 79 may be correspondingly tapered to furtherenhance the stability of the body support portion.

The slots 81 open at their inner radial ends in the passage 79. Theslots 81 receive lugs 83, respectively, which project radially outwardlyof the support shaft 15. In the embodiment illustrated, the lugs 83 areend portions of a pin 85 which passes through and is retained in theupper end portion of the support shaft 15. Thus, the slots 81 and thelugs 83 cooperate to interconnect the mounting member 63 and the supportshaft 15 to prevent relative rotation therebetween.

The locking mechanism 21 includes the pin 77 (FIG. 3), an operatinghandle 87 and a clamp 89. The pin 77 has a tip 91 which is partiallyreceivable in the groove 75, a threaded portion 93 which cooperates withmating threads in a radial bore 95 of the race 61, and an outer section97. By rotating of the pin 77, the threaded portion 93 moves the tip 91toward or away from the groove 75 to thereby lock or release themounting member 63.

The operating handle 87 has a hollow end portion 99 containing a pair ofdiametrically opposed axial slots 101 and 103 to thereby define arcuateresilient fingers 105 and 107 (FIG. 4). The hollow end portion 99receives the section 97 and the clamp 89 substantially surrounds thefingers 105 and 107. The clamp 89 can be tightened by a screw 109 tothereby apply a radial inward force to the fingers 105 and 107 to urgethe latter into tight frictional engagement with the section 97.Accordingly, pivotal movement of the handle 87 results in correspondingrotational movement of the pin 77.

The pin 77 cannot be unscrewed from the bore 95 because of a stop 111which is formed integrally with the race 61 and which is engageable bythe clamp 89 to thereby prevent further rotational movement of the clampand the operating handle 87 in a direction tending to remove the pin 77from the bore 95. Radial inward movement of the pin 77 is arrested bythe contact of the end surface of the tip 91 thereof with the surfacedefining the groove 75. By adjusting the angular position of the clamp89 on the operating shaft 87, the number of degrees of angular rotationof the operating handle 87 which is permitted can be adjusted. This isuseful in taking up wear on the surface defining the groove 75 and thetip 91. That is, if the tip 91 or the surface defining the groove 75wear, the stroke of the operating handle 87 necessary to cause lockingcan be maintained at a minimum by appropriate adjustment of the clamp 89on the operating handle. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the operating handle87 comes from beneath the body support portion 17 and then projectsupwardly to a convenient location for the operator.

In use of the chain 11, the operator can elevate the support shaft 15and the body support portion 17 by pumping or oscillating the foot pedal29. This causes the hydraulic pump 27 to move the shaft 15 upwardly in aconventional manner. The engagement between the end portion 82 and thewall of the passage 79 causes corresponding upward movement of the bodysupport portion 17. To lower the body support portion 17, the operatorfully depresses the foot pedal 29 and the weight of the equipmentresting on the support shaft 15 is sufficient to force the support shaft15 slowly downwardly.

With the body support portion 17 at any elevation, and with the lockingmechanism 87 unlocked, the operator can manually rotate the body supportportion relative to the base 13. When torque is applied to the bodysupport portion 17, the seat bracket 45 and the race 61 rotate with thebody support portion. The shaft 15 is held against rotation by thecooperating splines 33 and 35 and the shaft 15 retains the rotatablemember 63 against rotation by virtue of the cooperation between theslots 81 and the lugs 83. Accordingly, the race 61 rotates while themounting member 63 is held stationary.

When the body support portion 17 has been rotated to the desiredposition, the operator pivots the operating handle 87 in the appropriatedirection to cause the threaded portion 93 and the tip 91 to moveradially inwardly. With only a relatively small amount of pivotalmovement, the tip 91 contacts the surface defining the groove 75 andthereby clamps the mounting member 63 between the race 61 and the tip91. This frictional restraint is sufiicient to lock or hold the bodysupport portion 17 against pivotal movement during normal usage of thechair 11. By pivoting the operating handle 87 in the opposite direction,the tip 91 is taken out of contact with the surface defining the groove75 to thereby free the member 63 and the race 61 for relative rotation.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed, many changes, modifications, and substitutions may be made byone having ordinary skill in the art without necessarily departing fromthe spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A chair comprising:

a base;

a support shaft projecting generally upwardly from said base andterminating in an upper end portion;

first mounting means for mounting said support shaft on said base forgenerally up and down movement relative to said base;

means on said base for elevating said support shaft relative to saidbase;

means on said base for retaining said support shaft against rotationrelative to said base;

a body supporting portion adapted to support a human occupant;

second mounting means on said body supporting portion for mounting saidbody supporting portion on said support shaft for rotation relativethereto and for generally up and down movement with said support shaft;

said second mounting means including a mounting member having a walldefining a passage therein, said passage receiving the upper end portionof said support shaft, at least one of said support shaft and saidpassage being tapered so that said support shaft engages and firmlysupports said mounting member; and

releasable locking means for locking said seat against rotation relativeto said support shaft.

2. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein said upper end of said supportshaft is tapered.

3. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein both said upper end of saidsupport shaft and said passage are tapered at approximately the sameangle to thereby provide a snug fit between said upper end of saidsupport shaft and said passage.

4. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein said releasable locking meansincludes a locking member, means for mounting said locking member formovement between a releasing position in which said locking member isout of locking engagement with said mounting member and a lockingposition in which said locking member is advanced toward said mountingmember to lock the body supporting portion against rotation relative tothe mounting member, a stop for defining said releasing position, andmeans for permitting adjustment of the location of said releasingposition to compensate for wear of the releasable locking means and themounting members.

5. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein said second mounting meansincludes a race mounted on said body supporting portion and rotatablyreceiving said mounting member.

6. A chair as defined in claim 5 wherein said releasable locking meansincludes a locking member carried by said race and lockingly engageablewith said mounting member.

7. A chair as defined in claim 6 wherein said second mounting meansincludes a seat bracket mounted on the underside

1. A chair comprising: a base; a support shaft projecting generallyupwardly from said base and terminating in an upper end portion; firstmounting means for mounting said support shaft on said base forgenerally up and down movement relative to said base; means on said basefor elevating said support shaft relative to said base; means on saidbase for retaining said support shaft against rotation relative to saidbase; a body supporting portion adapted to support a human occupant;second mounting means on said body supporting portion for mounting saidbody supporting portion on said support shaft for rotation relativethereto and for generally up and down movement with said support shaft;said second mounting means including a mounting member having a walldefining a passage therein, said passage receiving the upper end portioNof said support shaft, at least one of said support shaft and saidpassage being tapered so that said support shaft engages and firmlysupports said mounting member; and releasable locking means for lockingsaid seat against rotation relative to said support shaft.
 2. A chair asdefined in claim 1 wherein said upper end of said support shaft istapered.
 3. A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein both said upper end ofsaid support shaft and said passage are tapered at approximately thesame angle to thereby provide a snug fit between said upper end of saidsupport shaft and said passage.
 4. A chair as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid releasable locking means includes a locking member, means formounting said locking member for movement between a releasing positionin which said locking member is out of locking engagement with saidmounting member and a locking position in which said locking member isadvanced toward said mounting member to lock the body supporting portionagainst rotation relative to the mounting member, a stop for definingsaid releasing position, and means for permitting adjustment of thelocation of said releasing position to compensate for wear of thereleasable locking means and the mounting members.
 5. A chair as definedin claim 1 wherein said second mounting means includes a race mounted onsaid body supporting portion and rotatably receiving said mountingmember.
 6. A chair as defined in claim 5 wherein said releasable lockingmeans includes a locking member carried by said race and lockinglyengageable with said mounting member.
 7. A chair as defined in claim 6wherein said second mounting means includes a seat bracket mounted onthe underside of said body supporting portion and carrying said race. 8.A chair as defined in claim 1 wherein said releasable locking meansincludes a manually movable member mounted on said body supportingportion for rotation therewith and for movement relative to said bodysupporting portion and cam means responsive to said movement of saidmanually movable member relative to said body supporting portion forlocking said body supporting portion against rotation relative to saidsupport shaft.